Reversible ratchet screw driver



Nov. 28, 1950 E. D. BRUBVECK 2,531,722

REVERSIBLE RATCHET SCREW DRIVER Filed Nov. 19, 1946 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor E12 WIIY'DBRUBECE W By and Wm; 5m

m H 2 2 M m t 0 m m 1 w 4 E 3 B 9 MW e -ll l fl Li v t a M a 2 W m w W &

Nov. 28, 1950 E. D. BRUBECK REVERSIBLE RATCHET SCREW DRIVER Flled Nov 19, 1946 and Patented Nov. 28, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REVERSIBLE RATCHET SCREW DRIVER Edwin D. Brubeck, Indianapolis, Ind. Application November 19, 1946, Serial No. 710,879

1 Claim.

and easily reversed, as well as having provision for pressing down upon the screw in starting the same, or if desired, while operating the screw driver, or in removing the screws.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ratchet or angle screw driver having a novel form of reversible ratchet mechanism, and a removable handle, which can be used to give the necessary pressure for driving a screw,,or removed when the space will not accommodate the same. I 1

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ratchet. or angle screw driver constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof away and the handle removed;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a fragmentary portion of another form of the invention; w

, Figure 4 is a side elevation of the device as shown in Figure 3; V v t Figure 5is an elevation of a screw driver blade;

Figure 6 is a similar view at right angles to Figure 5 of a smaller blade;

Figure 7 is an edge elevation of a ratchet wheel;

Figure 8 is a top plan view of a blade;

Figure 9 is a top plan view of the ratchet wheel shown in Figure '7;

Figure 10 is a plan view of a spring Washer em-- ployed with the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 11 is a side elevation of a reversing wheel or disc employed in Figures 1 and 2,

Figure 12 is a side elevation of a handle em ployed with the screw driver, and

Figure 13 is a perspective view of one of the forms of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in which like reference characters designate correspondpartly broken 2 ing parts throughout the several views, and particularly to Figures 1 and 2, the screw driver is shown as comprising a handle I5 composed of two sections l5 secured together in any suitable manner as by means of screws l1. One end of 'each handle section it is enlarged as indicated at 48 by widening the same and recessed on the inner side, as indicated at l9. The ends of the recessed portions of said sectiom are concaved on "arcs concentric to holes 20 aligned through the opposite sides, as indicated at 2! to receive a "reversing wheel or disc 22 in the recess formed by the co-acting' sections said wheel having a peripheral notch 23 extending radially and having a central hole receiving a pin, including an enlarged head portion 24 at one end, provided with a radial socket to receive an operating pin or finger piece 25, the smaller opposite end or shank portion 26 extending through the aligned aperture or hole of theother section.

The'ends of the enlarged portions I8 are provided with aligned larger apertures receiving the the ratchet wheel in the sections It at the outer end of the handle. The splined opening '29 receives the tool which receives the circular shank 3fl of a handle 31 to exert pressure, while permiteng ne ratchet wheel 28 to turn on the shank til-which isrelatively short, and may be attached "in connection with a ferrule or plate'32 :at the reducedend of. the handleshown as round or globular as indicated. Adjacent to the ratchet heel 28, is a double pawl 33 having divergent oppositely extending wings or teeth to engage the notches and teeth of the ratchet wheel 28 and a slotted lug 34 to receive a spring or spring strip 35, the opposite end of which engages in the notch 23 of the disc 22.

The ratchet wheel 28 has the vpolysided or crossshaped opening 29 formed with a plurality, preferably four equally spaced concaved recesses 36 in the hub of the ratchet wheel 28 to receive similar projections 37 on the enlarged circular head end 38 of the screw driver blade having a shank 39 and the bit 30, different sizes and lengths of which are shown in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings. Adjacent to the end 38 is a flange H which engages the bottom plate Iii at the bearing 2'! provided at the bottom of the ratchet wheel 28. The screw driver shank is provided with a central counter-bore 42 to receive the shank or stem 38 of the handle so as to turn thereon while permit- 3 ting the fingers or hand to be applied to the handle for exerting pressure. A shorter screw driver shank is shown in Figure 1, but the same may be even shorter for smaller spaces or cramped quarters not accessible with an ordinary screw driver.

With the device as described, the ratchet wheel 28 can be turned in either direction by reversing the position of the pawl 33 through the medium of the wheel or disc 22 by merely pushing the finger piece or pin 25 to one side or the other, so as to screw or unscrew the screw by turning the handle 15. The ratchet mechanism allows the screw to be driven or unscrewed merely by oscillating the handle.

The construction shown in Figures 3 and. 4. of the drawings is the same as previously described except as to the reversing means for the ratchet pawl, and the parts are similarly numbered except for the modified parts. In this construction, the cutout or recess in the handle receives a shiftable member like the rotatable disc or wheel 22, except that the same is in the-form of a U -shaped piece d3 having a central notch 44 to receive the spring or spring strip 35. U-shaped member 53 receives the reduced ends of a screw 16, engaged by a threaded bore of a knurled nut 41 which turns in an opening 48 in the sections [5 of the handle so as to shift the U-shaped piece or member 43 to the right or i left for reversing the ratchet mechanism by causing either one of the pawls to engage the teeth and notches of the ratchet wheel 28, to turn the screw driver in either direction. The ratchet pawl will of course slip in the opposite direction. Also, the disc or wheel 22 in Figures 1 and 2, may be held in a raised position by a concaved or dished out split spring washer 49 as shown in Figures 1 and 10, placed beneath the disc 22 to ive bearing support therefor and having radial cuts 50 producing spring sections or tongues in the form of segments therebetween to engage the bottom of the disc or wheel 22.

It will thus be seen that the tool consists of relatively few parts which will enable the user to drive and loosen screws which are not accessible to the ordinary screw driver and that a ratchet or angle screw driver of the nature described, will find many uses as an improvement over the conventional type of screw driver. The length of screw driver shank or blade and bit, will depend upon the space allowed and may be short as desired.

While in the foregoin there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor The legs 45 of the r 4 changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as my invention is:

A ratchet screw driver comprising a handle including opposed members secured together and having opposed recessed inner faces forming a longitudinal central recess in one end, each of said members having a pair of spaced apertures, each aperture in one member being aligned with one of the apertures in the other member with one of said pair of aligned apertures being located adjacent the inner end of the recess and the other pair of aligned apertures being located adjacent the outer end of the recess, a ratchet wheel rotatably positioned in said recess and having bearing portions rotatably engaged in the apertures at the outer end of said recess, said ratchet wheel having a star-shaped opening, a blade having an end portionprovided to fit said opening and a flange to engage the bottom of the handle for rotation with the ratchet wheel, said end portion of the blade having a bore in the top, a handle piece havin a shank rotatably engaged in the bore, a pawl pivotally mounted in said recess and having diverging portions to selectively engage the ratchet wheel in reversed directions of rotation of the ratchet wheel, a spring strip mounted in the pawl and extending to the inner portion of the recess, a U-shaped notched member slidably mounted at the inner end of the recess and receiving the inner end of the spring strip, a screw carried by the legs of said U-shaped member, a nut mounted in the apertures in the inner end of said recess and threaded on the screw to shift the U-shaped member in opposite directions for oscillating the pawl to reverse the action thereof in connection with the ratchet wheel, and said nut slidably engaging the sides of the apertures in the inner end of said recess whereby said nut is held against lateral movement relative to said handle.

' EDWIN D. BRUBECK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 346,058 Mouat July 20, 1886 635,698 Sprague Oct. 29, 1901 843,693 OHara Feb. 12, 1907 951,056 Clark Mar. 1, 1910 

